GENEVA, Jan 10: Oscar-winning Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who discovered the teenage Sophia Loren, launched her film career and later married her despite threats of bigamy charges and excommunication, died on Tuesday night. He was 94.

Ponti died at a Geneva hospital, where he had been admitted since Christmas because of pulmonary complications, his family said in a statement.

Alessandra Mussolini, niece of Loren and grand-daughter of fascist ruler Benito Mussolini, said: “His wife and children were with him. Sophia has always been with him throughout.” No date was given for funeral arrangements.

“His death marks the end of an era for film-making because Ponti embodied a great and courageous push to innovate, promoted unforgettable talents and enjoyed huge success,” Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said.

Ponti discovered several other great Italian leading ladies, including Gina Lollobrigida, and had affairs with several of them. Born in Magenta, Italy, in 1912, Ponti studied law and worked as a lawyer before moving into films in the late 1930s.—Agencies